I go to my regular coin club like every couple of weeks and last time I was there someone had brought in some magazines and such and I grabbed a couple. When I got home to my pleasant surprise was a newsletter called "The Portico". It's from a full step nickel club in southern California, I think it's in Burbank. Anyways, I was wondering if anyone here is a member of that club. It has tons of nickel info and I guess in 2004, yes that's how old this newsletter is, they were offering a nickel. I remember seeing that nickel somewhere but I don't remember where. Anyone here have that really cool nickel that has a regular obverse but a really unique reverse minted by Ron Landis. Anyone know what I'm talking about. Anyone? Must sell for a bit now!!
I have these and they were struck in silver in both matte and brilliant, if I recall correctly, finishes. They were limited to 1938 pieces each and the reverse design was the original design by Felix Schlag before Congress got the last say in how the nickel would look. They are quite nice and might even still be available.
I am not a member of the FSNC, but I did request back issues of the Portico, and I meant to join. As I understand, unfortunately, their membership is very limited -- fewer than 100 members. I believe my information came from Darrell Crane. The coin you're referring to is a fantasy/restrick of the original design for the 1938 proof. I did not purchase these, but they're available in the $50-$100 range, if you can find them. As mentioned above, mintage was limited to 1,938 pieces. They can be found, with patience, and they're attainable. If you find any updated membership information, I think I'm ready to join now. Thanks!
If you can, could you post a pic please. Also If you know where I can pick one up let me know. thx much
Here is a link for the FSNC order form for the nickels. The link says it has not been updated since late 2002, but it is still on the web. There is a phone number for the club as well as a physical address.
Right on! Now I have a pic to post! These nickels are beauties!! I bet the price went way up! :secret:
It didn't go way up, but you could make a profit over your initial investment. I believe that many of these were certified and slabbed by SEGS.
Yeah, I guess a few years back like in 2004 SEGS was a reputable company. Have you seen any of these fantasy nickels on ebay and what do you look under? I've checked a couple of times under Ron Landis but nothing ever comes up and under Gallery Mint only copies and stuff I don't want comes up. Any ideas?
They may have all gone through SEGS as I have never seen one raw. They have a special insert within the SEGS holder for these pieces.
Chasindreams posted a thread about these nickels a few months ago. Based on the photos, they were encapsulated by SEGS for the purpose of authenticating and numbering but not for grading. Jim posted a photo in his OP, check it out! SEGS FSNC Nickel I have wanted one of these for a while. They are not easy to find, unless I am looking in the wrong place. I also don't know if the FSNC is still going strong or not. I think they used to have a website but now it is just an address. Not sure.
They're not all over the place, but I see them every now and then at larger shows. SEGS is still a reputable company. They're especially good at grading nickels, as they grade using modifiers ("nice for a 1953-S", or "ticks and bridges", etc.) and the quarter-step grading method. It's SGS that you want to stay away from, in my opinion.
Alright, now everything is getting a little bit clearer. Two companies, the crap one is SGS and the good one is SEGS, glad I learned that! Yes, these nickels are hard to come by and I'll keep on looking.
As far as I know, the FSNC is not running any more - I sent a few emails to the main guy and never heard anything....and as far as I can find, their newsletter hasn't been printed for several years. I do have a set of the nickels that I got off a CT member that was wanting to sell them - from what I've seen they prices vary from auction to auction....I think one CT member spent as little as $25, and I have seen them sell for close to $200. I think mine was something like $75 for the set, and I believe that it was well worth it. They were all slabbed by SEGS and numbered as well - IIRC there were only 1938 sets of them minted. Speedy
Fsnc These can still be obtained although the numbers are getting limited. Please contact Darrel Crane of the FSNC. As far as I know the club is still active.
